What are your options in ELT?
Many thanks to everyone who joined the chat: @Marisa_C, @SueAnnan, @fionaljp, @kamilaofprague, @angelos_bollas, @GlenysHanson, @ChrisRussellELT and @digteap.
Sue and Fiona mentioned an IH course which they had both taken on online learning – COLT – and if you’re interested in management positions, Marisa’s centre in Athens offers a course in ELT Management. There is a lot on offer in terms of online development, with many universities providing short courses – check out FutureLearn or the British Council.
Infographic created with canva.com – thanks to Fiona for introducing me to it!
Update – 23rd April
@ConzieSays made a good point that moving to another country would also be another option. Check out Marc‘s comment below as well as it’s worth bearing in mind that there might be better options available in some countries than others. Another example of this is that Trinity usually request their speaking examiners be based in the UK, whereas Cambridge employ staff locally to examine.
And more options from @patjack67 and @lapizazul1:
Hi Teresa,
That’s an interesting infographic. I’m not really sure that it speaks to my experience though. Here in Japan it’s basically this.
A) Language school teacher > trainer/line manager for only about £50 a month more > HR person, hassling sick teachers to go to work.
B) Assistant Language Teacher at schools, providing ‘authentic’ support to Japanese teachers of English. Often provided by despatch companies. Same wage as language schools but with slightly better holidays. > ALT trainer for a despatch company. Not much more money.
C) Do an MA and work in a university. Worry about your contract renewal every 3-5 years.
D) Buy a school or start one and make the same money but have more stress than A or B, or if lucky, C. I know some teachers with their own schools who still work other jobs.
Materials writers. There aren’t many, much like there aren’t many pop stars.
Teaching in different contexts can only really be done now by those with spouse visas or permanent residency due to the precarious circumstances. There is potentially more money but likely to be balanced out with the stomach ulcers from stress due to irregular cash flow.
It would be interesting to see if any organisations would start looking at teachers who want to stay in the classroom as an asset rather than a thorn in the side.
Thanks for this. Sorry to be the voice of doom and gloom. I’d really like to be one of the fellowship to throw the terrible ring into the fires of Mordor, though.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on the post, Marc. It’s really interesting to get your perspective on what’s available in Japan as my experience is incredibly limited to Spain and what’s I’ve heard about online. I don’t know whether the other educators who were involved in this ELTchat have had much experience of moving up the career ladder in other countries, but I think at the moment we’re all Europe-based. Part of the reason for this ELTchat was to explore what different options there are as when I first started teaching, I assumed I would get a few years’ experience then open my own school, being unaware at that time of what else I could do. However, I can appreciate that in certain contexts or for certain perople, some of these options might not be possible or even available.